


Compromises

by xofstardust



Series: Shipping prompts [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Medium Keith, Paranormal AU, University AU, just some sweet fluff and talk between two concerned boys, witch shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 18:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15734868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xofstardust/pseuds/xofstardust
Summary: “Me? I’m fine.” Shiro laughed in response, gentle and incredulous, leaning back and away from Keith’s reach and intercepting his hand to hold it with his own. “I’m the one who should be worried about you. The fifth floor library has it’s rumors for a reason, you know.” His expression sobered then, gaze dropping and falling into something akin to regret. “I should have gone with you.”His concern was warranted.Or: Shiro convinces Keith through the magic of a heart-to-heart talk to let him help a bit more. It's not witchcraft, just charm.





	Compromises

**Author's Note:**

> Done for [this shipping prompt](http://xofstardust.tumblr.com/post/177012298222/send-me-a-number-and-a-pairing-and-ill-write-a) over on my tumblr!
> 
> The prompt was supposed to be "Accidentally falling asleep on the couch together" but I'm terrible at following code, oops! Enjoy!

“You’re not paying attention.”  


The words were softly spoken despite their scolding nature, and only barely registered by it’s receiver’s tired state. Lips part in denial, every intention to refute such a claim crawling slowly up the back of his throat, words and sounds seeking to be formed on his tongue. Words, however, were more difficult to form than he remembered last, and rather than convince the other’s words to be false, the tired mumble to escape him only further incriminated him.

“Keith--” Whatever was coming next was interreupted by a breathe of laughter, a warm touch to his shoulder following shortly after. “Keith, come on, wake up. The test is tomorrow and I doubt Montgomery’s gonna change what’s on it.”

“ _Shiro_.” Keith groaned in protest, stretching out to hear the light pop of his bones, to feel the dull ache in his overworked muscles, and cringing over the awkward sound the sofa made at every move. Cheap, faux leather cushions squeaked and squealed, it’s existence purely cosmetic to complete the university’s aesthetic. He was almost embarrassed for having nearly fallen asleep on it.  


“Wh’t time is’it?” He slurred, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands.  


“Almost midnight.” Came the amused reply.  


Keith groaned in response, head thrown back against black cushions and arms splayed at his sides. “Then why does it feel like it’s four in the morning?”

“You’ve had a long day.” His tone was a mixture of amused and understanding, and it was only once Keith had found the strength to peel his eyes away from the dull mustard yellow paint of walls that he found Shiro’s expression to be matching such tone. “How’s your head?”  


“Been better, getting better.” Prior exhaustion temporarily forgotten, dark-blues narrowed in concern, scanning the other’s face intensely. “What about you?” Already was he reaching out to shift a pale fringe from Shiro’s face, inspecting the hairline there as though it held the secrets to it’s color-- or lack thereof. _Stress_ was what the doctors had told them, but Shiro and Keith had exchanged knowing looks upon the diagnosis. “Headaches?”  


“Me? _I’m_ fine.” Shiro laughed in response, gentle and incredulous, leaning back and away from Keith’s reach and intercepting his hand to hold it with his own. “ _I’m_ the one who should be worried about _you_. The fifth floor library has it’s rumors for a reason, you know.” His expression sobered then, gaze dropping and falling into something akin to regret. “I should have gone with you.”

His concern was warranted.

See, the fifth floor library was all of three things:

One, it was of-limits, and thus, closed off to the public. Roof leakage and hazardous to students, was the story weaved for the students, the floor having been used as a Chem Lab at some point in history before it was remodeled along with the rest of the building into a multi-floor library and study hall. Old chemicals had been improperly disposed of, and so when the water damage was done, the mixture came to create a hallucinogen.

Keith could smell the bullshit a mile away.

Finding a way into the closed off floor had been a task in of itself, vent-climbing and crawling providing many new bruises and blisters to sport on his person. The old elevator had been cold and unstable and Keith just about had a heart-attack when it came to a screeching halt mid-floor. Climbing the rest had been... interesting, and _that_ was only getting _into_ the fifth floor.

 _Two_ , the fifth floor was _musty_ and dark. Never mind how difficult it already was to breathe in the midst of what Keith did for a living, the air itself was dense enough to test even the sturdiest of lungs-- and Keith was a _swimmer_. There was a dense fog that hung heavily between abandoned bookshelves and moldy books, piles of literature having been fused into one over the years. It was almost as though the floor had it’s own private biome, appearing humid and smelling just as heavy.

The temperature, however, was anything but warm.

Three, and this was the biggest feature that granted it talk of the campus, it was _haunted_.

“-- Keith?”  


Lashes fluttered rapidly at the mention of his name, eyes lifting and meeting with a pair of gunmetal grays. “Sorry, I... I zoned out.”

Shiro’s worry hadn’t ebbed in the slightest, a thoughtful look in his eyes as they shifted towards a corner of their dorm. “I should make you a protection sachet.” He seemed to say more to himself than anything, and Keith already saw the signs of muscles ready to be put to work. Before the other could stand and busy himself, however, he quickly latched onto the taller man’s arm and gave an insisting tug.

“Shiro, I’m fine. It’s all fine, see?” He gestured to himself, a vague sweep of his person, as though it were enough to prove his statement. “There’s always going to be scrapes and bruises with these things, and I’ve done it all my life. I’ve been handling these things since I was a kid.”  


“But you _don’t_ have to handle it alone anymore, Keith.” Shiro insisted, a pleading look in his eyes. “It’s tough enough doing what you do and trying to keep up in class--”  


“-- You help me with classes though--”  


“--So let me help you with the ghost stuff too.” He continued undeterred. “I may not be a pro ghost hunter like yourself, but I can still help. You saved my life, Keith... Let me do this.”  


It was difficult to hold Shiro’s gaze, pleading and begging and honest, only rivaled by the difficulty of keeping his focus from drifting to that of the white locks that fell in front of his handsome face, a reminder of their first meeting.

“Help me with Montgomery’s class first...” Keith spoke slowly, readjusting himself in their sofa and pulling the heavy textbook further up his lap. “... _then_ we’ll talk ghosts.”  


The reluctant promise was enough for Shiro, it seemed, and that familiar bright smile returned once more, blinding and warm in it’s expression. “Alright... Alright, good.” He nodded, scooting closer to compare texts more easily, finding a comfortable spot glued to Keith’s side. “Seeing how it’s almost two in the morning, let’s try to cover as much as we can then.” And _that_ served to elicit another groan from Keith, book rising to meet his face with a dull _thud_. Of course Shiro would only laugh in response, already beginning to read from the pages with great interest.

It didn’t take long for the text to become blurry in his vision once more, words leaping from their place and meshing with the lines below and above them. Blearily did he stare on, blinking rapidly and rubbing at his eyes in an effort to combat the sleep that threatened to drag him under again, though it wasn’t his actions that kept him afloat from drifting off. Something else felt... _off_ , and that alone had him curious enough to remain wakeful.

It was... quiet. Wasn’t Shiro supposed to be reading?

“Shiro?” He mumbled quietly, head lifting to gaze up at the man at his side, only just realizing he had slumped against the other’s shoulder at some point. Shiro, however, was soundly asleep already, book askew in his hold and head lolled to the side, gentle snores escaping him all the while. Keith, with lips quirked into a smile and eyes heavy with exhaustion, didn’t have the heart to wake him-- nor the energy, for that matter.

The time read four thirty-eight the last he saw, pressing his cheek against a warm bicep and distantly registering the sound of his book falling onto the floor. It wasn’t a problem for preset him to deal with.

He’d deal with other issues come sunrise.

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, I constructed a whole ass AU for this one-shot and I'll probably never talk about it again, so please send me asks about it on my tumblr so I can talk about it!!! LMAO honestly though, it fun to think of, I actually just might draw stuff for it because I actually grew really fond of it! I'm in a supernatural/paranormal mood honestly so it might get super spoopy and dark c': Fun stuff, right?
> 
> Come say hi to me on [tumblr](http://xofstardust.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
